they were the CUTEST cookie i had ever seen in my entire life and i had to have it. martha stewart even stopped while decorating to let us know, "you can get these cute cookie cutters from macy's blah blah blah". and like a good brainwashed pregnant housewife, i waddled my butt to macy's that day looking for them. they were out. i called every single macy's in the DFW area looking for these stupid cookie cutters. NO one had them. i was upset. i was pregnant, fat, miserable, and i just wanted these stupid cookie cutters. i remember even crying about it, (i was pregnant, don't look at me like that). i went to martha's website forum to find out where i could get a set. the only place that had them in stock was the chicago macy's (huge store). i called them to see if i could buy a set and have them ship it to me. no such luck, "sorry you have to come in"! few days later i noticed they were being sold on ebay for about $70, (they sold for 15.99 at macys!). it was crazy! "i would never spend that much money on a cookie cutter", i thought to myself. then last christmas i was stillllll thinking about the stupid cookie cutter (issues anyone?). i even googled and checked ebay to see if anyone was selling theirs yet. nothing! then a few weeks ago i thought about them [again] ::chuckles::. i was surprised to see 3 brand new sets being sold for $50. i was hesitant since $50 for a stupid cookie cutter was pretty pathetic. don't you agree?!. i loled at the description, "the much desired and rare santa cookie cutter featured on martha stewart". deep inside i was hoping someone would hate their set and sell it used and i would score an awesome deal or something. but when i got back from my trip to colorado, i checked the amazon store again where they now only had one in stock! i bought it! i had a bad feeling that if i didn't, i would forever be stuck in this twilight zone episode where the stupid santa cookie cutter ruined my life! ha. the other cookie cutters in the set are cute, but it's funny to me that this ONE little cutter is the backbone to the set. i love it. not one bit of regret that i wasted $50 on it!

not as much as the $50 ones but more than what it was originally sold for at macy's. i'm happy with it and just in time for halloween! so, if you are SMART go to macys right now and buy up all of martha stewart's cookie cutters and in a year (or whenever she discontinues them), sell them. apparently that's how it works! :o/. and i am just going to call it now because i know in a year or two i will be right and david will eat his words! the star wars cookie cutters at williams sonoma.. are going to be collectibles in a few years. worth more than what they were sold for. and when that happens i have this blog post to shove into david's face with a not so polite, "i told you so". hehe

now on to my new lens, the canon 24-70L. i was hesitant to buy the zoom after some other photographer friends claimed they weren't that impressed with it. i love primes. they're sharp, perfect bokeh blah blah blah. but there are times, (especially now with a mobile toddler), i wish i could switch out to a wide angle in record time. i'm pretty impressed with the zoom. it's a known fact that zooms are not as sharp as primes wide open. but my copy is pretty freaking sharp wide open. and sharper at 3.2. also please excuse the baby boogers. he had just gotten up from his nap (still a little sick) and i was excited to get some test shots and didn't bother wiping his nose until later. eeww i know. mother of the year!

100% crop: taken wide open at 2.8! 70mm

sharp right?! bokeh isn't too bad either. here at 70mm..

and 24mm..

of course if i shot at 2.8 with a prime my image would be SUPER sharp but that's besides the point. i knew that i would have to sacrifice something for the zoom and sharpness is part of the deal. my only complaint (so far) is not with the lens but the package (shipped by UPS). it (shipping box) arrived severely DAMAGED. i opened the box and my lens box has also been damaged. it looks as if a heavy item was on top of it and indented the boxes. the lens appears to be okay. but if i sold my lens, i'm afraid i will have a problem selling it due to the damaged box. i could return it, but i received a sharp copy of this lens and if i return it i could get a dud. so i'm stuck. i don't know if i will ever sell the zoom. even though i am a prime girl, i think a zoom is a good thing to have no matter what. BUT what if?! i'm torn. i don't know what i should do. what would you do? i have less than a day to make up my mind since you only get two days to report shipping damage.

here are some shots where i closed down to 3.2. i don't think i will shoot above 3.2. this test is more of a real world test for myself. i'm sure if i did a real controlled test. the sharpness or something would be off. but for me this is good enough.

Wednesday

this room gets a lot of use from me. with all my many projects i'm constantly working on it always looks like a war zone. i'm enjoy doing the before and afters. my entire house needs deep organization so i might just continue until i am finished. it gives me a goal! lol. ashton is still sick. bless his little heart. it's really hard accomplishing my ONE room a day goal with him constantly needing me. i hope he feels better soon!

Tuesday

i made this huge long list of things i need to do when i got back from germany. it's sticking to our fridge (not even 50% finished). i'm just a tad bit OCD. i like things simple and organized. today i decided to organize/clean out our pantry.. poor ashton has come down with a cold and low grade fever, (i didn't even know a small person could produce so much mucous!). anyway, he was pretty needy today and it didn't help my efforts. plus david was almost 2 hours late! took about 8 hours to finish. all and all i am pleased with it.

and some exciting news.. david let me have my christmas present early. i now own a 24-70L. it arrives thursday! he made me promise i wouldn't ask for any more 'stuff' for christmas. i promised him i wouldn't ask for any more 'camera gear' (see how cleaver i am?). LOL. i'm excited. i was thinking about getting two primes (24mm and 50mm. from sigma). but i know the thought of the zoom would always linger in my head so i might as well get it. try it and decide from there if i will return it and get the primes or stick with the zoom. but at least i can STOP thinking about it!

Monday

we must be prone for bad luck during HOT texas summers! last year our AC unit died and thankfully we were under warranty but it took WEEKS for it to be fixed. now our AC is out again! but the dual capacitor is shot. even worse it was on a saturday night and on sunday every single AC supply/part store are closed! with the exception of one guy who said we could pick up the part we need for $120 or wait until monday when it would cost us $35! we are waiting. and it is miserable in our household right now. i do not fare well in heat. i become grouchy, swollen, sweaty, oily, gross, just complete BLAH all over. i hate it. i get a headache and feel nauseous! it's now 89F in our HOUSE. doesn't sound too hot but it IS! it's horrible!

thankfully we own a window unit but unless you are sitting right next to it, it's pretty much worthless! right now ashton is using it so he can sleep peacefully. poor little boy hasn't had a real chance to play with his toys. anyway. david insisted we go to Ikea for the day (an hour drive from our house). gives ashton a chance to take a nap in a cold car. and us a break from, well everything! did i mention it's the middle of august in texas? the hottest month out of the year. we were at 102F BEFORE NOON today.. and that was in the shade!

we had lunch and browsed around the gigantic warehouse. last time i was there ashton was still nursing and i remember what a big huge headache it was to walk all the way back to our car for a feeding. things change. so quickly. we brought our stroller, but here i am again, wondering WHY?! because ashton wanted to roam around and pretty much refused the stroller. he thought all the little people stuff was the best thing ever. small beds. small tables.. small everything. the perfect world in his eyes.

lots of hands on toys. i love ikea!

severely cropped and exposed with a slow shutter speed so it's blurry big time (and the color balance is all over the place. i'm too hot to even bother fixing it). but it's the only shot i got with ashton in his favorite chair. if it hadn't been $80 we would have bought it. oh and ikea kids are MEAN. while sitting in this chair a little girl (4?) went right up to ashton in a jealous fit and slapped him in the face. :o/. then there was the brat who hogged up the slide, and when ashton kindly tried playing with her she kicked him and did whatever she could to get him off "her" slide. yeah i get it.. they are kids. but their parents are sitting right there, literally feet away from them. wtf! there was a boy who took a toy from ashton while he was playing with it (above the chair pic). the boy had another toy JUST like it. so why he needed two is beyond me. he was around 9 years old i guess.. david took the toy when the boy wasn't playing with it and gave it back to ashton but the boy continued to take it away. frustrating ashton :o(. apparently another boy punched ashton in the face for a toy ashton had in his hands. i didn't see it happen, (david did) but i would have given a tongue lashing to his parents! david said he was shocked because ashton didn't even seem phased by it. i don't know, am i being anal raising my son to not hit other kids and treat them with respect or is this how parenting is supposed to be?! i've met tons of kids who are kind and sweet so they aren't all bad apples. however, i'm taken back by how mean these kids can be! all i know is if ashton pulled ANY of what i saw today, playtime would be O.V.E.R! (vent over).

by the end of the day we spent more than what we wanted on a little table/chair set, which ashton adores! even helped daddy put it together (literally).

an art easel and a tunnel toy.

we tried to make the best out of our situation. hopefully tomorrow morning BEFORE david leaves for work we will have a working AC once again. then i can take a shower without sweating the second i get out. can't wait!